Irish medtech company Diaceutics to recruit 30 people

Chief executive of Dundalk-based company expects the market to triple by 2020

Diaceutics has helped put in place structures that gave 48,000 cancer patients in the EU and US access to biomarker testing. Above, a cancer cell

Irish medtech firm Diaceutics is set to add 30 jobs to its workforce in the coming year, as the company targets further growth in the EU, the US, South America and Asia.

The Dundalk-based firm, which works with pharmaceutical firms on diagnostic testing and data analytics that brings more personalised medicine to patients, has seen its revenue surge 60 per cent per year over the past three years. It has helped put in place structures that gave 48,000 cancer patients in the EU and US access to biomarker testing to ensure they have access to the right drugs.

The additional roles will be in global operations, marketing and data analysis. The company currently employs about 25 people in Ireland, with the remainder of its workforce in its US headquarters in New Jersey and satellite offices in Asia and South America. Some of the jobs will be based in Ireland, and chief executive Peter Keeling said the recruitment would lead to the global workforce growing to 100 by the end of next year.

“We’ve doubled our team every year for the past three years,” he said. “For quite a number of years we had a core team of 25-30 people . The way the market has shifted and the way we conduct business, we’ve had significant growth.”

Booming market

Diaceutics expects the market for its services, which helps companies better understand testing for biomarkers and specific illnesses, will be worth €4 billion by 2020.

“The market is going to triple; we would like to triple,” he said. “Some 70 per cent of new cancer drug launches will be diagnostic-dependent in the next five years.”

Diaceutic’s future plans include expanding its footprint, and also commercialising the testing end to end for pharma companies, acting as a complete outsourcing partner for the firms.

The company works with 26 of the top 30 pharmaceutical firms in the world, and is primarily privately funded, but Mr Keeling it would be important for the company to bring in venture backing in 12-24 months, enabling it to invest not just in people but in its services.

“This is disruptive to pharma, but also enabling for the future of patient care,” Mr Keeling said.